“You’re kind of a dick,” Grayson says. “You know that? I thought people were exaggerating about your bad temper.”
I come to a halt and turn to face him.
“Listen, Drayton,” I snarl. “I don’t fail missions, and this one won’t be the first. Get your men to scope the area and coordinate with mine. Orion Bridges is a Tracker, and he’s taking the lead. You can communicate with me through him.”
“It’s Grayson,” he corrects. “And you’re right here. Why would I need to radio in another team to speak with you? That makes zero sense.”
“Because your voice grates on my nerves,” I say.
Grayson clicks his tongue and turns on his heels.
We’ve set up camp for the night. The forest is eerily silent. Branches scraping the dirt like claws.
I’m on a log, glowering at the flames after another failed day.
Orion’s team returned to join ours. He can’t sense Knox. I can tell he’s frustrated. He keeps toying with the old matchbox he carries around. He has trinkets that belong to each of the members of Black Star. It’s meant to be used during times like this.
“There’s something wrong with his powers,” Orion whispers. “I can’t sense him. Not fully.”
“You think they de-stabilized it?” I ask.
“An officer lost his control a week ago,” Clover says. “It might be in the hands of the rebels.”
“We’re close,” Orion says. “I know that much.”
“I think we got a lead,” Spider calls.
Spider and Grayson are standing side-by-side. Spider stormed off in his direction when Orion and Clover refused to make room for him on their log.
Grayson’s fair hair flutters in the breeze as he approaches us. He looks younger than me, but I reckon we’re the same age and he simply lacks the discipline and structure my life has.
“What is it?”
Grayson holds his tablet upright.
“We went through all the properties in the area. Most of them were demolished when your father passed the policy that required all civilians to live in the divisions in government housing,” Grayson says. “This one was skipped.” He points to the circled area. “It’s ten miles from here.”
The fire crackles low, casting long shadows across the clearing. I stare at the map on his tablet that outlines the directions to the destination.
I fold my arms over my chest, scrutinizing the location.
“A safehouse. Off the road, surrounded by cover, with a possible functional utility grid. Makes sense, they’d pick somewhere hard to find. There’s minimal risk for enforcers to notice anything this deep in the forest.”
“Grayson is a genius,” Spider exclaims.
“Don’t be modest,” Grayson replies. “You helped me narrow it down.”
Spider beams at him.
“Did you find anything, Orion?” Spider asks.
Orion glares at him as Grayson draws up a satellite overlay on his tablet.
“The roads here are too far for enforcers to venture during searches. If they keep to the dirt path and stick to the tree lines, they’re invisible. If this is where they are holed up, it’s going to be a long night. We need a plan to get close without tipping them off.”
“We need a smaller team for recon,” I say.
Grayson hesitates. “What if it’s a trap? They are smart, and clearly well-prepared.”
